Computer Crimes Amd Capers

by Martin H. Greenberg Isaac Asimov (Editor)

In these stories, written by acknowledged masters, computers appear as both the abused and and as abusers. Often they have self-will, at other times they are made to commit crimes and other acts, sometimes chilling sometimes very funny. Among the writers represented are Robert Silverberg, Joe Cores, Edward Wellen, Edward Hoch, Gordon R. Dickson, Stan Dryer, J.T. McIntosh, Poul Anderson and Isaac Asimov.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Andrew]

This was a trip down memory lane for me. When I was younger (and I guess naiver) I would fixate on an author or a genre so much that I would read and collect it to death. I would honestly burnout on them to the point it could take years before I would want to read a book connected to it again.
Isaac Asimov was one of those authors and it has taken me a long time to get round to reading his works again (now I know my failures and try and read a varied selection, sometimes at the same time to stop this from happening).

Now here is the rub of it - I forgot how much I enjoyed his work - something that is compounded by the sheer volume of books he published and even more so that he helped select and edit.
Computer Crimes and Capers is a typical example. While Panther and Granada where publishing gaudy and eye catching titles there were also lesser publicised titles like this from Penguin.
Now reading the book again years later it does start to show its age (printed card answers!) however the realisation of what computers can do to our lives (or that we can do while using them) is still very much up to date and I think will become even more relevant.

This to me is one of those lesser known titles that really highlight how prophetic science fiction can be at times and how once you look last the trappings of the time a story is written in there are elements which are surprisingly modern and relevant.

[Matteo Recrosio]

Alla fine non si può non constatare che la vecchia collana Urania abbia sempre avuto qualcosa da dire, con i libri che portava o con le antologie di racconti come questa. Per gusto personale gli avrei dato tre stelle probabilmente ma oggettivamente è un libro da quattro. Nel complesso sono tutti racconti interessanti e alcuni anche al passo con i tempi, come l'ultimo di Asimov, ovviamente. Sono tutti racconti che, suggeriti dal titolo dell'antologia, hanno a che fare con il discorso di computer. Computer che ragionano e che raggirano come esseri umani o che vengono usati per raggirare o risolvere problemi. Oltre al racconto finale di Asimov "Tutti i problemi del mondo", ho trovato molto interessanti anche "Amore ti amo", "Ponti d'oro", "Policomputer", "Sam Hall", "Un'ora Investigazioni" e "Il burocrate". Gran parte della raccolta è secondo me molto interessante e a tratti al passo con i tempi, in un presente sempre più vicino a questi libri e a queste storie. Di contro ho trovato in due racconti alcuni dettagli un po' invecchiati, forse dalla traduzione, che gli hanno conferito proprio quello stile fantascientifico anni 50/60, soprattutto per il nome degli apparecchi tecnologici ma è una piccolezza.

[David]

An interesting anthology of stories about crimes committed using computers, computers acting in puzzling ways and mischief involving computers. Some are more like mysteries than others.

The anthology was published in 1983. I'm not going to check when all the stories were written. But readers may be amused, puzzled or put-off by references to things like computer punch cards. I would guess it may seem odder to readers who grew up before that era. But I think the general plot of the stories can still work regardless of the particular computer input-output formats.

Authors include: Isaac Asimov, Gordon R. Dickson, Robert Silverberg, and Edward Wellen.

Fairly short for an anthology - 235 pages.

[Remo]

Cuando Asimov no escribía, editaba (o prestaba su nombre para editar). En esta colección de relatos cortos siempre aparecen ordenadores, como protagonistas o como instrumentos. Entretenida, pero no grandiosa.

[Lukáš Caha]

Great projection of future into our lives.

[Vincent Hernot]

not very good

[Ben Sarsgard]

I picked this up as a gag, but it turned into one of the best books I've read all year! There are a few surprisingly good stories in here, but mostly the imagery of the time is just incredible to witness. Massive crime-predicting computers that span the space of multiple cities along the east coast; what's not to love? My favorite bit though, would have to be the typed correspondence between man and machine that should strike anyone who's used a computerized phone system as prescient.

[Eliaspallanzani]

https://eliaspallanzanivive.wordpress...